Wanderers finally got their man when they agreed a seven-figure deal for Yugoslav midfield star Sasa Curcic.

But the significance of the exciting transfer - which is still subject to the midfielder's work permit going through - goes further than merely adding another player to the Burnden squad. It also marks an end to a worrying period in which Wanderers have appeared unable to sign any quality players.

Roy McFarland and Colin Todd have strived tirelessly in recent weeks to boost their Premiership squad. But the lack of any incoming talent to show for it frustrated the management, directors and supporters alike.

The concern was growing that the difficulty in signing top players was proving too great.

Enquiries for Aberdeen's £2.5 million-rated Eoin Jess and Dons strikers Duncan Shearer, Billy Dodds and Scott Booth came to nothing this week, following interest in Dundee United's Billy McKinlay, Motherwell's Rob McKinnon and Nottingham Forest's Scott Gemmill which have all so far failed to materialise into a firm deal. Wanderers have the cash. McFarland and Todd are understood to be armed with around £4million of spending power after splashing out a similar amount on Gerry Taggart, Steve McAnespie, Andy Todd and Chris Fairclough since the summer.

The search took Todd on a two-day scouting mission to Scotland last weekend and McFarland to Hull City where he ran the rule over striker Dean Windass - the second £1million-rated Division Two striker to catch his eye following the recent interest in Swindon's Peter Thorn.

With speculation going into overdrive, the need for a big signing had never been greater and yesterday's sealing of a £1million-plus deal with Partisan Belgrade for the Yugoslav international came as huge relief for everybody concerned.

But it was hardly a panic buy. While all around them have got themselves into a frantic state Wanderers' officials have been carefully conducting secret negotiations for the 23-year-old Curcic who is rated one of the top young stars in Eastern Europe.

So secret, indeed, that until the BEN revealed the correct details yesterday the media machine has incorrectly reported his name as Dragan Circic and stated his club as OFK Belgrade.

Wanderers are aware of the need to act quickly to boost their squad with chairman Gordon Hargreaves this week admitting that "the Premier League clock is ticking," and promising to invest in new players. But they have learned the hard way that signing players is - as ex-Wanderers boss Bruce Rioch has always insisted - the hardest job in soccer management - especially at the top level.

It is a two-fold problem for Wanderers. Firstly other managers are increasingly keen to hold on to players these days for a variety of reasons.

Not selling players keeps their own squad strong; it also denies rival teams of the player's services - and avoids giving themselves the huge headache of having to replace the player.

The other difficulty Wanderers have is that players are less willing to go to a struggling Premiership side than a club whose top flight future is more secure.

When potential signings cut through the sentiment and take a hard, professional view of the situation the bottom line is that Wanderers remain favourites to be back in the Football League next season.

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